Bill O'Brien staying at Penn State

Bill O'Brien will reportedly stay at Penn State University to remain their head football coach.

Adam Caplan reported this story first.

O'Brien's agent, Joseph Linta, said Thursday night that the Nittany Lions' head coach garnered interest from several NFL teams for vacant jobs at the next level.

But Linta said the "heartstrings" of O'Brien's experience from Penn State's 8-4 season in his first year outweighed the potentially big raise he could have received as an NFL head coach. He said O'Brien made the decision to stay at Penn State and not move forward with potential NFL opportunities Thursday.

O'Brien interviewed with the Cleveland Browns for their head coaching position earlier in the week according to CBSSports.com.

Mike Freeman wrote: "The impression the Browns got was that O'Brien is happy at Penn State but would make the jump to the NFL sooner than later should the right opportunity arise. One source said that O'Brien might interview with other NFL teams (if he already hasn't.)"

Penn State is not bowl eligible for the next three seasons.

The Browns have also conducted interviews with Doug Marrone, Ken Whisenhunt and Ray Horton.